The Legal 500 Hall of Fame highlights individuals who have received constant praise by their clients for continued excellence. The Hall of Fame highlights, to clients, the law firm partners who are at the pinnacle of the profession. In Europe, Middle East and Africa, the criteria for entry is to have been recognised by The Legal 500 as one of the elite leading lawyers for seven consecutive years. These partners are highlighted below and throughout the editorial.
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Lithuania > Real estate and construction > Law firm and leading lawyer rankings

Find out which law firms are representing which Real estate and construction clients in Lithuania using The Legal 500's new comprehensive database of law firm/client relationships. Instantly search over 925,000 relationships, including over 83,000 Fortune 500, 46,000 FTSE350 and 13,000 DAX 30 relationships globally. Access is free for in-house lawyers, and by subscription for law firms. For more information, contact david.burgess@legal500.com.

Cobaltâs Simona OliÅ¡keviÄiÅ«tÄ-CicÄnienÄ is advising the Rail Baltica joint venture on the Rail Baltica project to connect Warsaw to Tallinn via a standard-guage railway. More traditional real estate work includes a number of freehold deals for institutional investors. AuÅ¡rys Å liavas is a key managing associate. Deividas SoloveiÄik is assisting Eika with public procurement issues regarding several new police stations.

Ellex handles a range of heavyweight deals, and is a popular choice for private equity real estate investors and REITs. IndrÄ JonaitytÄ-GricÄ advised Baltic Retail Properties on selling 70% of its Latvian and Estonian asset pool to W. P. Carey as part of a sale and leaseback transaction. Practice head Tomas MilaÅ¡auskas and JonaitytÄ-GricÄ advised Lords LB Asset Managent on the sale of a 13,600mÂ² shopping centre in Kaunas. MilaÅ¡auskas also advised Eastnine on the development of a high-rise office block in Vilnius, the majority of which will be leased to Swedbank. Evaldas Klimas is now with newly established firm Law Firm WALLESS BurgienÄ, ReÄiÅ«nas and partners.

Sorainen handles a range of property transactions, including contentious planning matters and property disputes. AuÅ¡ra MudÄnaitÄ is acting for Promola in a dispute with the Lithuanian government over its lease of the former Å½algiris stadium site to construct a mixed-use development; she also represented Lidl in a dispute pertaining to heritage protection over a site intended for an office development. Transactional highlights include KÄstutis Adamonis advising W. P. Carey on several property acquisitions, including the purchase of 18 stores leased to Kesko Senukai. Laura NalivaikienÄ joined the firm in March 2017 from the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate. Other clients include Taurapolis, which it advised on the purchase of part of the Tauro brewery complex. ArtÅ«ras Kojala is now at Cobalt.

Averus handles a range of work in the space, with a particular strength in contentious and non-contentious construction. Povlias Karlonas is advising a bidder on a nationally significant construction project, and is assisting Pramones Turtas with the construction of a built-to-suit logistics facility for a tenant and a private equity co-owner. Raimondas Kivylius handles construction disputes. Free zones are also an area of expertise.

Fort advises real estate investors on various transactions, alongside work conscerning construction and real estate finance. RÅ«ta RadzeviÄiÅ«tÄ-MeizeraitÄ and Andrius Mamontovas advised Eften Capital on the purchase of a company that had assets including a warehouse in Kaunas, and a business centre in Vilnius. The pair also advised Elmoris on purchasing a built-to-suit factory. Mindaugas Å½olynas is another name to note for heavyweight transactional work.

Glimstedt Bernotas & Partners handles a mix of transactional work, including the sale and purchase of lands and buildings. Paulius Gruodis and senior associate Jolanta LiukaitytÄ-StonienÄ advised an Ikea subsidiary on purchasing a 45MW wind farm. On the construction side, Andrius Ivanauskas advised Linstow on expanding the Radisson Blu hotel in Vilnius. In an example of the firmâs cross-border capability, KÄstutis JaskutÄlis advised Business Incentives, an Estonian company, on a â¬2.3m land acquisition in Vilnius. Senior associate Eivydas Sadauskas is also noted.

At Primus, Attorneys at Law, Robert Juodka advised Rafako on the construction of a power plant in Vilnius, which was subject to the modified form of the Fidic Yellow Book contract. GiedrÄ DailidÄnaitÄ, together with the firmâs Latvian offices, advised Lithuanian retailer Berry on leasing a store in Riga. In an example of its contentious work, Juodka and Marius DevyÅ¾is are acting for Ergo Lithuania, as insurer of Maxima, in a dispute pertaining to the collapse of a supermarket roof in Latvia in 2013, which resulted in a number of fatalities. Ernesta Å½iogienÄ is also noted.

TGS Baltic advises real estate companies on various transactions, including retail and office developments. Dainius Stasiulis advised East Capital Explorer on purching a 15-floor office building in Vilnius from another real estate investor. The team also advised Prisma LT on the closure of its hypermarkets in Lithuania and Latvia. Balt Development is also a client. Senior associate Sandra BliuvaitÄ-Å ulcienÄ is another name to note.

At AJK Consultus, name partner Audrius KaireviÄius handles various transactional construction and real estate matters. KaireviÄius and Povilas Juzikis advise Tele2 on various matters regarding telecoms towers, including land leases and construction issues. Other clients include Kaunas Free Economic Zone, which the team advised on a number of compulsory purchases, Lidl, and several real estate investment companies.

CEE Attorneys handles transactional work and real estate financing matters. Daina SenapÄdienÄ advised AudÄjo Prekybos Centras on purchasing a new shopping centre, and handled subsequent sub-leases to smaller retailers, while Inga Kostogriz-VaitkienÄ advised Pro Kapital Group on a construction finance facility provided by DnB Bank for the construction of a residential development in Vilnius. Senior associate Kristina SabaliauskienÄ also leads significant mandates.

LEADELL BalÄiÅ«nas & Grajauskas handles a mix of work, with marine-related infrastructure a particular strength. Gintaras BalÄiÅ«nas advised Klaipeda Stevedoring Company on developing a petrochemicals terminal in Klaipeda. Other highlights include advice to PK Invest on developing a residential real estate project.

Motieka & Audzevicius has a particular strength in construction and procurement matters, many of which are contentious. Jovitas Elzbergas represented Axis Industries in a procurement dispute with the Vilnius municipal government concerning the proposed new national stadium. Non-contentious highlights include advising a real estate investor on the construction of 73 apartments in Palanga.

At Ecovis ProventusLaw, KÄstutis Kvainauskas handles contentious work such as construction and planning disputes; he is representing Vilniaus Parkai in a lease termination dispute regarding land in Bernardinai Park.

Magnussonâs Ligita RamanauskaitÄ advised Cetarium on leasing over 5,500mÂ² of office space to Festo. In the construction space, RamanauskaitÄ advised KanÄo Studija on the development of a new Radisson Blu hotel on the Nida waterfront, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Marius Endzinas assisted Kalstata, as the subcontractor, with the construction of a window and door factory in MarijampolÄ.

TVINSâ Vytautas Å enaviÄius handles real estate deals across various sectors, with a particular strength in agricultural matters. Highlights included advising Art21 on legislative changes regarding farmland transactions, and assisting Estate Guru, a peer-to-peer lending platform for real estate finance, with the real estate aspects of its entry into the Lithuanian market.

Trinitiâs Deivis Valiulis leads a range of transactional mandates, including advising Auresta on the â¬1.6m sale of land in Vilnius Old Town, and assisting the owners of company Minija with the sale of the company, which includes land assets.

Interview with...

Law firm partners and practice heads explain how their firms are adapting to clients' changing needs

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AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine in connection with two syndicated EUR-denominated facilities arranged by Deutsche Bank in December 2018 and March 2019 for the total amount equivalent to approximately USD1 billion.

AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (âEBRD â) and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (" BSTDB ") in connection with senior secured loans in the total amount of up to EUR36.3 million to Rengy Bioenergo LLC (âLoans â).

The document entitled "Statement of Changes to Immigration Rules" which was released by the House of Commons on the 7th March 2019, outlined and advised us on a number of changes that will come into place that will affect the Tier 1 Investor Visa amongst other visa programmes and schemes. The latest article on our website discusses both of these new UK business visa routes. Our immigration lawyers London are already up to date on all of the required information for both the NEW Tier 1 Start-Up Visa and the NEW Tier 1 Innovator Visa .

According to the new document from the House of Commons on March 7th 2019 titled âStatement of Changes to Immigration Rulesâ, a number of changes will come into place that affecting the Tier 1 UK Investor Visa programme amongst other visa programmes and schemes. Read about them in our latestÂ article .Â

There is no doubt that the UK has to date benefited immensely from visa-free EUÂ immigration to the extent that visa conditions and caps on non-EU migrant have undermined and overshadowed the ability of this group to play a prominent role in British industry and commerce and in its expanding and overburdened NHS service. It is the view ofÂ Gulbenkian Andonian Â however, that afterÂ Brexit, there should be a noticeable change in those skilled non-EU migrants contributing to British society in a meaningful way.Â

From 1 January 2021 everyone except for British and Irish citizens will be subject to immigration control in the UK. Â Gulbenkian Andonian solicitors has already published an article on this topic of post- Brexit immigration and has discussed the case of EU nationals and family members after Brexit, you can find that article here as one of many in our blog .

A medical practice cannot advertise using the term âPraxisklinikâ (âclinicâ in English) if it does not provide overnight accommodation. That was the view upheld by the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH) in a ruling from October 17, 2018 (Az.: I ZR 58/18).

For both Ariana and Asma it was critical that their respective business plans get accepted. While Araina was trying to win the investors for her start up, Asma wanted her much awaited promotion from the board of directors. While Ariana did crack the deal,sadly Asma didnât.

The UAE has implemented a major initiative to update its laws and procedures, by adopting best international practice to encourage foreign direct investment and trade more generally with the UAE. There was a new Companies Law in 2015, a Bankruptcy Law in 2016, tax laws in 2017, and a Federal Arbitration Law and Foreign Direct Investment Law in 2018. In addition to that, Federal law No. 18 of 2017 amended the Companies Law to allow the authorities to dis-apply the requirement for 51% local ownership of UAE companies. A clear message is being sent to the world that the UAE is open for business, there is a strong modern structure in place in a form which is familiar to the big international players and which will serve their business needs.

Cheques are the most commonly used commercial paper in the UAE not only because they are used as a method of payment, but also, because they are the only commercial paper secured by the provisions of the UAEâs Penal Code (the âPenal Code â)to enhance confidence in cheques as a form of payment. As a result, cheques have been used for decades in the local market as a form of security.

C. David
DeBenedetti and Bartosz BagieÅski, DMS partners, took part in the 13 th
annual General Meeting of the Polish Chamber of Commerce in Japan and Polish
Seminar on âNew Possibilities of the Bilateral Economic Relations between Japan
and Poland under the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)â.

Arbitration practice and procedure has developed rapidly in the UAE, and the courts now take a far more pro-active role in supporting the arbitration process and enforcing arbitral awards. This movement can be seen progressively in Cassation Court judgments over the past ten years and is now recognised in Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 on Arbitration (the ânew Arbitration Lawâ), which repealed and replaced the old arbitration law in Articles 203 to 218 of Federal Law No. 11 of 1992. The old law did not reflect international best practice and left too much scope for the award debtor to avoid making payment

C. David DeBenedetti, attorney of the State of New
York and DMS partner gave an interview to a Spanish journal "ExpansiÃ³nâ. In his
conversation with Victor Moreno, he touched on the changes on the market of
legal services that occurred as a result of development of new technologies and
said that DMS attempts to fully adjust to these new conditions. Based on the
analysis of the M&A market in Poland and internationally in recent years,
C. David DeBenedetti guaranties that despite a drop in investments in Poland,
the M&A market will continue to grow while Â DMS, as a member of
Globalaw, expects intensified work in this area.